Container



April 1934- H. E. WENDELL ET AL 1,955,663

CONTAINER Filed NOV. 20, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 3 vwwwto'u Herman Wendel 1 Hem-161V Wendell WWW:

April l934-v H. E. WEINDELL El AL CONTAINER Filed Nov. 20, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 g Her/1121115 Wendel l fiederz'c/V Wendell Patented Apr. 17, 1934 UNIEB STATES CONTAINER Herman E. Wendell and Frederic Norman Wendell, St. Pctersburg, Fla.

Application November 20, 1933, Serial No. 698,861

4. Claims.

The object of our said invention is to provide a container particularly adapted for packing and shipping berries, or small fruits, which while being of an inexpensive construction will, nevertheless, be most eiiicient in use, and of a completely ventilated character, with no interfering corners or projections for contacting and injuring the contents, all as will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

Referring to the accompanying drawings which are made a part hereof and on which similar reference numerals indicate similar parts,

Figure 1 shows a blank as stamped or out ready for the formation of a container of our improved 19 type and construction,

Figure 2, a perspective view showing the container as it appears when the sides are folded upwardly and secured in. such position ready for use, a portion of the right-hand end section being broken away to show the locking parts more clearly,

Figure 3, a view similar to Figure 1 showing a modified form, Figure 4, a view similar to Figure 2 showing said modified form,

Figure 5, a section View through a crate illustrating the method of packing a number of boxes (usually 36 to the crate) and the advantages of such packing resulting from our form of box containers, because of the ventilation, spacing, and

protection of contents secured,

Figure 6, a view similar to Figure 4 showing the ends secured together by staples or rivets 26 in lieu of the connection between the flaps shown in the other figures, and

Figure 7, a View showing the special form of fasteners 26 that we have designed for use for this purpose. We regard this form of Wedgeshaped fastener as especially adapted for the purpose, as being conveniently and readily inserted and clinched.

The blank is preferably formed of sanitary wood pulp in sheet form and while of a semimoisture-proof character it is not treated with paraffin or otherwise. It is, however, formed with a smooth, moisture-resisting surface and is capaable of absorbing a limited amount of moisture.

As shown in Figure 1, the container is made from a single fiat blank so cut and punctured that when the sides and ends are turned up and looked a complete constainer is formed, as illustrated in Figure 2, without any separate fastening devices or accessories. The blank is out of the general outline shown in Figure 1 and then perforated along the lines of the folds or corners of the box. The perforations are of a size and are spaced that distance apart so that they will serve as efficient ventilating means for the container when packed and also serve to weaken the board or sheet along the lines for folding and define such lines, thus serving in lieu of the commonly employed scoring to define the lines where the folds shall be made and insure that the folds will be made accurately and uniformly in all containers. The perforations along the sides and ends of the bottom may be, and in most cases preferably are, crescent-shaped cuts formed by a cut of this shape along the line of the fold at spaced intervals, the point of the out being toward the center of the bottom of the box so that when folded lugs 20 project from the lower edges of the sides and ends and serve as feet to support the container free of the supporting shelf, or other surface on which it is placed, thus permitting air to circulate underneath and around the containers as well as through them.

The blank may be described as divided into nine sections 10,11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18. Section 10 forms the bottom of the container; sections 11v and 12 its ends; sections 13 and 14 its sides; sections 15 and 16, 17 and 18 the flaps which overlap on each end outside the sections 11 and 12, and are secured together by means of a locking lip 19 on one engaging with a crescentshaped slot 21 in the other. The lips 19 are adapted to project through the slots 21 and are formed with an offset 22 which forms a locking corner that upon pressure after the lip is inserted through the slot engages behind the face of the opposite flap 21 and securely locks the two parts 90. together.

This engagement being outside the ends 11 and 12 and said ends being formed with tapered edges to conform with the shape of the end of the box, as shown, it will be seen that the interior of the box or container when finished is smooth at all parts where the berries contact.

The perforations provide ventilation at each upright corner and also along each edge of the bottom which permits air to circulate through all parts of the container.

The end flaps 15, 16, 1'7 and 18 are also preferably formed with angular portions 23 which, when the parts are folded to form the container, project upwardly above the normal level of the upper edge 1115 of the container and are adapted to support the dividers used in packing the containers in crates (see Fig. 5) and thus provide against loss of fruit resulting from said dividers coming into contact with and injuring the berries or other contents, a 11 0 trouble common with using containers of usual form.

It will be understood that for some uses the projecting lugs or feet 20 may not be desired, in which case instead of the crescent-shaped cuts along the edges of the bottom section 10, a row of perforations similar to the perforations marking the line of division between the other sections will be formed. In any case, however, a complete crossventilation is provided around all the edges and at the corners and the perforations perform the dual function of ventilation and marking the lines of the folds and weakening said lines to facilitate the folding.

It will also be understood that the panels may be either slightly flared, as shown in Fig. 2 or may be formed with perpendicular sides, as shown in Figure 4. In the case of containers with perpendicular sides it is desirable to form projections 25 along the upright edges which serve as spacers to space the containers one from another, when placed in the crates, to insure a free circulation of air between the containers as well as beneath and through the containers.

While we prefer the method of securing as shown and described, consisting of the lip 19 in one end flap and the crescent-shaped slot 21 in the other end flap, it will be understood that other means of securing these flaps may be employed if desired, such as staples or a tapered wedgeshaped unit as shown in Figures 6 and 7, which may be inserted and clinched or bent down on the opposite sides of the two flaps when together.

For some purposes the angular projections 23 on the top edges may not be needed or required and it will be understood that in such cases they may be omitted and the edges made straight and fiush with the normal top edge of the container. These or other modifications may suggest themselves to users, all of which may be employed without departing from the spirit of our invention as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus fully described our said invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by 0 Letters Patent, is:

from a blank of appropriate material, said blank having lines of perforations positioned for promoting the bending of said blank along lines of the corner formations of the finished container, said perforations being large enough to promote ventilation in the finished container, whereby said perforations serve not only to promote ventilation but also in lieu of conventional scoring.

2. A container for berries or small fruits made from a blank of appropriate material, said blank having lines of perforations positioned for bending said blank into the corner formations of the finished container in lieu of conventional scoring, said perforations being large enough to promote ventilation in the finished container and out so that when the blank is folded cut portions will project outwardly to serve as spacing means for said container with respect to similar containers placed adjacent thereto.

3. A container for berries or small fruits made from a blank of appropriate material, said blank having rows of perforations defining the bottom and sides of said container and for promoting the bending of the blank into the corner formations of the finished container in lieu of conventional scoring, said perforations being of such size as to provide ventilation in the finished container and some of them formed to provide spacing means for said container when placed adjacent similar containers.

i. A container for berries or small fruits made from a blank of appropriate material, said blank having lines of perforations defining a bottom section, two side sections, two end sections and two flaps at each end formed as extensions of the side sections and adapted to be secured together outside the end sections when said container is folded, said perforations being large enough to provide ventilation along lines of the corner formations of the finished container and to promote the bending of said blank in lieu of conventional scoring, whereby a container is provided with an interior surface smooth throughout and with ventilation through the corners thereof.

HERMAN E. WENDELL. FREDERIC NORMAN WENDELL. 

